If you’re like most people, you store many important files on Google Drive. But it can often be difficult to find the specific file you’re looking for. Google has just announced a new feature called “Search Chips” that will make finding what you’re looking for within the cloud-based storage service much easier. It also cuts down on time spent searching for files since it makes it simpler for users to locate relevant files more quickly and eliminates the necessity to sort through irrelevant results.
Google Drive Workspace users now have the option to search for documents and files based on the files’ location, type, the people with whom they’ve been shared, when the files were last modified, and more. You can find these options nested below the scratch bar in Google Drive in the form of an additional suite of small drop-down menus. This will save you time and frustration when trying to locate a specific file in your Drive account.
Yes, ‘search chips’ are a small update. But it will have a big impact on how we use Google Drive. As a user of Drive for work, I can’t begin to tell you how aggravating it’s been trying to find various papers in my own Workspace-grade Drive section, much alone trying to discover files shared across the team. Trying to tell one file from another in search results is a pain, with files ranging from just hours old to nearly two years old appearing without any apparent pattern. With ‘search chips,’ suddenly all of that changes.
Google has recognized that searching for a few keywords related to a wanted file or document may be too general and result in ineffective searching and incorrect findings. By adding a degree of filtering, it’s expected that it will become simpler to find the file you want.
Other modifications to the Drive experience include improved spelling suggestions, search chips that can operate alone or together, and additional date options for the “last modified” chip. ‘Search chips’ are only available to Workspace users right now, but maybe coming soon for all other Drive users. ‘Search chips’ will be a great addition to already excellent service, and it’s a nice surprise that Google is investing in these tools.
The rollout of this upgrade has already begun, but it may take up to 15 days from February 15th for the search chips to be added to your Drive version on the Google Workspace.
It’s nice to see Google reconsidering some of its most widely used tools, which are already fantastic, such as Gmail and Google Drive. Streamlining processes and making life simpler for customers is always a plus.
So what do you think? Are ‘search chips’ a helpful addition, or are they just a minor update that doesn’t really solve the problem? Let us know in the comments below!